That inclination you get when you gaze at a photo of the Earth in space has a name.

March 23, 2015

When astronauts went into space, something strange happened: They couldn't stop staring back at our planet.

They called it "Earth-gazing."
Even though they were in the midst of one of the biggest feats of our species, they found themselves more connected to their place back home.
Seeing Earth in its entirety somehow didn't make them feel insignificant but gave them a feeling of awe and care.

It was so powerful, a term was coined: the "overview effect."
Astronauts say this experience not only changed their perspective, but the very core of their attitudes as they think of the future of our planet. Some considered it to be even more important than their original mission

“When we originally went to the moon, our total focus was on the moon. We weren't thinking about looking back at the Earth. But now that we've done it, that may well have been the most important reason we went."— Overview Institute co-founder David Beaver, retelling what one astronaut has said